Needs Help: Too Good To Last

To be blunt, most of the examples on the page give no explanations, just putting the name of a show and nothing else. It doesn't explain why said shows are good (which is highly subjective, but this is a YMMV trope I suppose), and in many cases it does not say why it didn't last or even how short it lasted. To top it off, at least half of the examples are red links as well, which wouldn't be as well if there was actually some explanation of anything next to them. A lot of the examples on the page that DO have descriptions don't give any info at all, quite a few just being petty snark of the variety to which this phrase is potholed. (For example, here's one I pulled from the page: "Downtown - It was just too intelligent for some exec." Really now?)

I propose one of three things:

1. Make it explicitly clear on the page (and harshly enforce, with someone monitoring the page) that it is required that added examples have descriptions of why they were Too Good to Last and how long they lasted.
2. Example Sectionectomy and keep it example-free.
3. Merge into Screwed by the Network (a lot of examples that have descriptions seem better suited to this page).
4. (suggested by djbj) Repurpose the page into being about critically acclaimed shows that did not catch on and thus were cancelled/ended early.

edited 10th May '12 5:36:09 AM by 0dd1

I don't get the point of this. It's just complaining about how this awesome show you liked (and thus everyone else should like) got cancelled. Even worse, it presumes it's because other people were just too stupid to get it, rather than more reasonable options.

Wow, this page is a mess. The Other Media examples don't look too bad though.

I think the kind of show that should be listed on this page should be a critically acclaimed show that developed a cult following but didn't catch on to a wider audience and was therefore had a really short run. Instead people are using it to mean "a show I liked that was cancelled". I know there are some well known and largely agreed upon example of this trope phenomenon, like Freaks And Geeks, Firefly, and Wonderfalls, but beyond that this idea is way too subjective and is very prone to Opinion Myopia. Many of the shows listed here, at least to me and probably a lot of other viewers, were incredibly average and forgetable. Seriously, Gary Unmarried? Traffic Light? Worst Week? The Playboy Club? I'm pretty sure I read that the latter got really bad reviews.

edited 8th May '12 8:50:27 AM by djbj

Agreed there. Right now the page resembles more how petrie described it.

Note that we do have a separate page called Short-Lived, Big Impact.

Do we have examples of shows that were critically acclaimed and had good ratings ans still got cancelled?

there are some here. (Tremors and Gilligans Island for example)

This dates back to the earliest days of the wiki, which explains some of the issues.

Is this trope have a problem with examples that are only Gushing About Shows You Like, or Praising Shows You Don't Watch?

edited 12th May '12 11:46:47 PM by spacemarine50

The idea of a short-run show with a passionate fanbase is important (and perhaps some reflection on how home video is important), but I think this may be better off with no examples or some sort of documentation requirements so it doesn't end up being every show that someone ever got upset got canceled too early, which is essentially what it is now. Some of these shows managed three years.

Some specific criteria would be good.

We already have an Acclaimed Flop page. That would cover most cases of this (except for those rare instances where a series is kept going for a while even though it's not popular because the critics like it...)

Votes bump.

That's just what I was looking for. Since we already have that page, I see no reason not to merge Too Good to Last and Screwed by the Network.

Calling crowner in favor of merging into Screwed by the Network.

We have consensus to merge this into Screwed by the Network. Let's see some activity.

1017 wicks left.

-poke-

So, for some clarification, is this a simple switching of wicks from Too Good to Last to Screwed by the Network, or is it more complicated?

...A quick scan of the wicks and the sheer number of them indicate that there's a reason why this has been so dormant.

edited 18th Dec '12 3:04:41 PM by chihuahua0

Technically, all wicks for TGTL qualify as SBTN as well. The examples aren't written in the same way, tho.

I'd assume it would be more than just changing every link, since there are some shows that are considered to be good but clearly got low ratings or had some other valid reason to be cancelled, and thus weren't screwed by the network (though said shows' fans might not see it that way...)

After reading the description of Screwedby The Network, I start getting doubts about the merge. These really are distinct concepts.

Clock is set.